Personal assistant advice
Are You Ready for an Assistant?
Take some time to get organized before you hire a personal assistant.
BY WALTER SANFORD
Ever been ready to take some time off only to realize your work isn’t done. You have to clean up the mess your new assistant’s created?
Of perhaps you can’t afford a vacation because the added overhead from new your assistant is eating up all your profits.
If this cycle of “I need an assistant”--“This assistant just creates more problems” sounds familiar, it’s probably because you didn’t prepare yourself and your office systems to utilize an assistant profitably. Before you think about hiring your new assistant, follow these easy steps, and you’ll find that your assistant enhances your productivity and profits, not undermines them.
Be sure you can afford an assistant. Since you’ll be paying your assistant a salary, you have to determine how much extra business you’ll have to generate to cover all the costs associated with an employee. Don’t forget items such as overhead for more office space, your contributions to Social Security and other employment taxes, and the cost new equipment for your assistant to use. If you can’t get the numbers to pencil out, maybe sharing an assistant until your sales grow is your best option.
Determine what responsibilities you really want to be paying your assistant to do. To some extent, your decision will depend upon your assistant’s particular skills and whether or not the assistant holds a real estate license. For example, an assistant who has a flair with ad copy or design should definitely create property ads for your review. And of course, a licensed assistant can take on jobs such as showing properties while you spend your time prospecting and negotiating. Before you decide exactly what your assistant will be doing, check with your state licensing agency to see if there are guidelines for what assistants can do.
When deciding what to delegate, it’s also important not to bog your assistants down with so much routine work that they can’t really contribute to building your income. For example, I believe that most assistants should spend 60 percent of their time in some aspect of lead generation. You can probably delegate some routine responsibilities to your family. For example, your 16-year-old would take the car to get it washed or pick up yard signs for less than an assistant costs. You can also get the seller to help. Sellers can do jobs such as refill brochure boxes in much less time than it will take your assistant to drive to the house.
If your broker has staff that you can use on an hourly basis, they may be a better choice for some routine work or for specialized work such as tracking a transaction to closing. Another alternative is to outsource specialized functions such as brochure design rather than having your assistant try to master every possible skill you need.
Once you’ve decided on the tasks you want your assistant to perform, create checklists and procedures manuals for every process you use to help make your assistant more productive. Writing down procedures not only minimizes the learning curve for your assistant, but also helps you rethink and possibly streamline your work processes.
For example, create a step-by-step guide on how to prepare for an open house. Make note of everything your assistant needs to do, from the first phone call to the sellers in the planning stage to the follow-up notes or calls to the clients you meet. Tell the assistant how many days in advance of the date each activity should be performed, what to spend, and what specific results are needed. My column on “The 15-Minute Open House ” will give you an idea of what tasks to include.
Create similar procedures for other activities your assistant will perform, including entering and tracking leads in your database, searching the MLS for expireds, and responding to information requests for your Web site. Don’t take it for granted that your assistant knows how to do these things. Even if you hire an experienced assistant, your procedures may be different than another sales associate’s. Write it down and avoid any unnecessary confusion. And in order to create a well-written manual, you’ll have to have done those procedures first. You can’t train an assistant on something that you are not proficient at yourself.
Next, make sure your office layout and technology are up to speed. Get a powerful computer and a color printer for your assistant’s use. Don’t expect an assistant to be productive with an older machine you’ve discarded. It’s also a good idea to keep your office equipment such as a fax and computer printer near your assistant’s desk. This way, time won’t be lost chatting every time your assistant prints a document.
This may sound obvious, but don’t hire assistants unless you a place for them. Ideally, your assistant should have an office or cubicle next to yours for easy interaction and supervision.
You might say, “But Walter, can’t my assistant work from home so I don’t have to lease more space?” I’ve heard variations of this idea for 30 years, and the truth is, you’ll be paying for your assistant’s home to be vacuumed, the dog to be walked, and children to be given an afternoon snack if you’re not careful. Even with a conscientious assistant, working offsite makes communication more difficult and places more of a supervisory burden on you.
Even before hire your assistant, give some thought has to how you’ll handle supervision and training. For example, decide in advance what part of each day you’ll spend in the office during the first several weeks after your assistant comes on board to provide training and answer questions. Decide when and how frequently you need to meet with your assistant to go over the day’s or the week’s work once that training period is over. Even with the best checklists and manuals, your assistant will need regular supervision and guidance.
If you use one of my productivity schedules, find a time in your day to check in with your assistant and block out at least 30 minutes a week for a status meeting.
Another important step is ensuring you understand all the legal and tax implications involved in hiring an assistant. Talk to your broker about how a licensed assistant’s license will be handled and what role the broker will play in supervision.
Keep in mind that unlike real estate sales associates, assistants—even licensed ones--aren’t usually independent contractors. This means you’ll need to set up a tax ID number and payroll account or get your broker to agree to handle payroll for a small fee. For more advice on legal issues related to employing an assistant, click here.
Finally, you’ll need to get ready for the actual hiring process. Develop questions that you want to ask each candidate during the interview process. Use the list of tasks you intend to delegate to give you an idea of the skills you’ll need. For example, if your assistant will be doing primarily lead generation, good organization and computer skills may be the most important requirements. If you want an assistant who spends time coordinating work with clients, look for a combination of a helpful, service-oriented personality and good organizational skills. Be prepared to ask question after question until you get a feel that this person would understand and implement the systems you’ve developed and fit in well in your business environment.
It’s also important to ask all job candidates to fill out the same application form. This not only ensures that you’ll get the information you need on past jobs, reference phone numbers (Call them!), and education, but using the same form for every applicant helps protect you from possible charges of discrimination.
Even with all the preparation in the world, not every assistant you hire will work out. Sometimes, you’ll be fooled and disappointed, but with care, your experience will be like my most recent one with my new assistant/office manager, Cyndi. You’ll be delighted.
Related Articles:
Visit the Personal Assistant Q & A for tips on working with assistants.
Assistants Go Virtual , Michael Russer, February 2002.
Getting Personal About Assistants , February 2002.
Using Personal Assistants for Prospecting
Previously by Walter Sanford:
Build Credibility with Recommendations " />
The Vacation Presentation
Are You Ready for 2003?
How To Reach Walter:
Walter can be reached at 815/929-9258; at 559 S. Washington Ave., Kankakee, Illinois 60901; at walter@waltersanford.com; or at waltersanford.com.
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